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May 21, 2015Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Wishing to determine the truthabout why Paul was being accused by the Jews,the commander freed himand ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,so he called out before the Sanhedrin,“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”When he said this,a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,and the...

May 20, 2015Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 20:28-38 At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flockof which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,in which you tend the Church of Godthat he acquired with his own Blood.I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,and they will not spare the flock.And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truthto draw the disciples away after them.So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and...

Not Crowded, but Close – A Brief Reflection and Clarification on the Communion of Saints in Heaven By: Msgr. Charles PopeMany of you know that I write the weekly “Question and Answer” column for the Our Sunday Visitor newspaper. Every now and again I get a question that stands out as unique, one that I had not thought of before. And such is the case with the question below. I had never thought of Heaven as potentially being crowded or considered it a drawback. But the question led me to reflect on the deeper experience of what we call the Communion of...

May 15, 2015Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 18:9-18 One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision,“Do not be afraid.Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.No one will attack and harm you,for I have many people in this city.”He settled there for a year and a halfand taught the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,the Jews rose up together against Pauland brought him to the tribunal, saying,“This man is inducing people to worship God contrary...

What Does the Arrest of St. Paul at Philippi Teach a Sometimes-Timid Church? By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn daily Mass we are following the missionary journeys of St. Paul. Yesterday we heard of his going over to Macedonia and of the baptism of the first “European” converts: Lydia of Thyatira and her family.Unfortunately, in today’s reading (Tuesday of the 6th Week of Easter) important lines are cut out that describe why Sts. Paul and Silas were in jail. The whole story serves as a metaphor for the radical nature of true Christianity and explains why it so perturbs many in this world....

Nothing short of suspending Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for the 2015 NFL season would satisfy many New Orleans Saints fans for the New England Patriots' involvement in Deflategate. The NFL announced Monday a four-game suspension for Brady and several other sanctions for the Patriots for the intentional use of deflated footballs last season. Some penalties levied on the Patriots organization were harsher than what the Saints received in the bounty scandal.

May 12, 2015Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 16:22-34 The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas,and the magistrates had them strippedand ordered them to be beaten with rods.After inflicting many blows on them,they threw them into prisonand instructed the jailer to guard them securely.When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost celland secured their feet to a stake. About midnight, while Paul and Silas were prayingand singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,there was suddenly such a severe earthquakethat the foundations of the jail shook;all...

Pope Francis celebrates Junipero Serra at Rome's North American College 2015-05-02 Vatican Radio(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday made the short trip to Rome’s Janiculum Hill to the Pontifical North American College, the national seminary for the United States.The College was hosting a day of reflection on Blessed Junipero Serra, the Franciscan missionary to California who will canonized by Pope Francis during his trip to Washington, DC, in September.Pope Francis said during his homily he wanted to discuss three aspect of the life of Blessed Serra – his missionary zeal, his Marian devotion, and his witness of holiness.Pope Francis said...

May 2, 2015Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Acts 13:44-52 On the following sabbathalmost the whole citygathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousyand with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,but since you reject itand condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us,I have made you a light to...

Featured Term selected at random: THE LITTLE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS Also called Fioretti. A collection of stories about the life of St. Francis of Assisi and his companions. It cannot be traced to a single author, but one part at least has been attributed to a provincial of the Friars Minor, Fra. Ugolino Brunforte. The earliest manuscript dated 1390 is in Berlin. First printed at Vicenza in 1476, the vernacular translation was widely circulated and is considered a masterpiece of Italian literature. There are several English versions. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic...

May 1, 2015Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 13:26-33 When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue:“My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,and those others among you who are God-fearing,to us this word of salvation has been sent. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophetsthat are read sabbath after sabbath. For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,they asked Pilate to have him put to death,and when they had accomplished all that...

April 30, 2015Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter   Reading 1 Acts 13:13-25 From Paphos, Paul and his companionsset sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats. After the reading of the law and the prophets,the synagogue officials sent word to them,“My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortationfor the people, please speak.” So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said,“Fellow children of Israel...

April 29, 2015Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 Acts 12:24—13:5a The word of God continued to spread and grow. After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,they returned to Jerusalem,taking with them John, who is called Mark. Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saulfor the work to which I...

Eyes That Are Humble – A Meditation on the Humbling Thorn of St. Paul By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe story of St. Paul’s conversion is well known and we read it last week in daily Mass. But there is a detail that I have often pondered which, though speculative, ought not be overlooked. Indeed, even my choice of the words “speculative” and “overlooked” (both of which refer to the eyes) indicate that we ought to give an eye (i.e., a look) to St. Paul’s eyes.As you probably recall, St. Paul was not just struck down on the road to Damascus, he was...

April 28, 2015Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 11:19-26 Those who had been scattered by the persecutionthat arose because of Stephenwent as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,preaching the word to no one but Jews.There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with themand a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.When...

April 25, 2015Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist    Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14 Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humilityin your dealings with one another, for: God opposes the proudbut bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,that he may exalt you in due time.Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant.Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lionlooking for someone to devour.Resist him, steadfast in faith,knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the worldundergo the same sufferings.The God of all gracewho called you to...

April 24, 2015Friday of the Third Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20 Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,went to the high priest and asked himfor letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”He said, “Who are you, sir?” The...

How the Saints Overcame Evil Kathleen BeckmanFr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., Postulator for the cause of Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote, “Her beatification challenges us to take a closer look at the question of holiness and its relevance in contemporary society.”The saints not only teach us volumes about the spiritual life; their stories enkindle the heart with a desire to do what they did. That is, to make a radical gift of self to God. Do I really, truly desire holiness of life? If so, how am I putting my desire into action and cooperating with God’s grace?I am presently...

April 23, 2015Thursday of the Third Week of Easter    Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,“Get up and head south on the roadthat goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,a court official of the Candace,that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,in charge of her entire treasury,who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.The Spirit said to Philip,“Go and join up with that chariot.” Philip ran up...

As Christianity Today acknowledges, prayers for and to the Saints date back to the early Church (in fact, these practices date back far earlier, even to Old Testament Judaism, but I'll talk more about that tomorrow). Nevertheless, these practices are controversial within Protestantism. Today, I want to look at just one of them -- prayer to the Saints -- and show why the opposition to it is grounded in a faulty view of life after death. Tomorrow, I'll look at the Biblical support for both prayer to the Saints and prayer for the Saints. First, a word on why...